Unchained

By Laura Shin

Crypto assets and blockchain technology are about to transform every trust-based interaction of our lives, from financial services to identity to the Internet of Things. In this podcast, host Laura Sh... more

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How many episodes does Unchained have?

The podcast currently has 1,017 episodes available.

Unchained episodes:

May 20, 2023The Chopping Block: Wizards vs. Laser Eyes for the Future of Bitcoin - Ep. 495
Welcome to “The Chopping Block” – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, and Robert Leshner, chop it up about the latest news. In this episode, Taproot Wizards instigator Eric Wall joins the show to discuss the rise of Ordinals and what it means for the future of Bitcoin. Will inscriptions and BRC-20 tokens bring a slew of Ethereum-style problems to the original blockchain?

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Show highlights:
how Eric has set up a “war” between the “laser-eye tribe” and the “magicians”
how the Bitcoin maxi community is different from the normal Bitcoin user base
whether Ordinals fixes the lack of demand for Bitcoin block space
what Taproot is and what it enabled on the Bitcoin network
the MEV problem that could arise in Bitcoin now that demand for block space is going up
whether Bitcoin’s values resemble a religion
whether the increased demand for Bitcoin block space is good for the network, even if it’s fueled by JPEGs and “shitcoins”
why so many people got worried about Ledger Recover
why Robert thinks that Ledger’s new service is “terrifying” and why Haseeb is not so concerned
whether Bitcoin is becoming a unit of account once again
Hosts
Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly
Robert Leshner, founder of Compound
Tom Schmidt, general partner at Dragonfly
Guest
Eric Wall, cofounder of Taproot Wizards
Previous appearances on Unchained:
Eric Wall and Udi Wertheimer on Why Bitcoin Maximalism Is 'Like a Shitcoin Community'
Is Bitcoin Doomed to Fail? Eric Wall and Justin Bons Face Off
Why Terra Collapsed and Whether an Algo Stablecoin Can Ever Succeed
DisclosuresLinks
CoinDesk:
Ledger Bats Back Criticism of New Wallet Recovery Service
The Blocksize Wars Revisited: How Bitcoin's Civil War Still Resonates Today
Nic Carter: There's No Such Thing as High Fees on Bitcoin
Unchained:
‘Backdoor’ for Seed Phrases? Ledger’s New Recovery Feature Spooks Users
‘Technically’ Possible to Extract User Keys? Ledger Addresses Deleted Tweet
Haseeb Qureshi’s thread on Ledger Recover
Previous coverage of Unchained on Ordinals and BRC-20s:
Bitcoin’s BRC-20 Mania: Is It Sustainable?
Bitcoin Ordinal NFTs Are Hot and Getting Hotter. What's the Hype About?

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1h 18min
May 19, 2023The Ugly Tradeoffs of Ledger’s New Recovery Service - Ep. 494
Ledger, the crypto industry’s leading hardware wallet manufacturer, rolled out a new recovery feature this month that caused an uproar. The recovery service has dangerous implications for crypto self-custody, says Foundation Devices Head of Content “Seth For Privacy.” He joins the show to discuss the downsides of closed-source code and the security risks that come with compromising for mainstream adoption.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Show highlights:
how Ledger Recover works and why it caused an outrage in the crypto community
why the fact that Ledger’s code is not open-source could be considered a problem
what the concerns are about handing over additional data to Ledger
how darknet markets have always existed for fake ID verifications and how it relates to Ledger’s new feature
some of Ledger’s previous security lapses
why introducing a trusted third party undermines one of Bitcoin’s most central tenets
whether Ledger’s move is a “net good for society,” and whether people actually want a service like this in a hardware wallet
whether something will go wrong with Ledger in the future
Thank you to our sponsors!
Crypto.com
Railgun DAO
Stader Labs
Guest
Seth for Privacy, blogger and head of content at Foundation Devices
Blog
Foundation Devices
Twitter thread on the logistics and risks of the Ledger recovery process
Links
Ledger CTO Twitter thread on Ledger Recover
CoinDesk: Ledger Bats Back Criticism of New Wallet Recovery Service, CoinDesk
Unchained: ‘Backdoor’ for Seed Phrases? Ledger’s New Recovery Feature Spooks Users
Ledger Recover webpage
Haseeb Qureshi’s thread on the Ledger controversy
Past Ledger security issues
CoinDesk: Crypto Wallet Maker Ledger Loses 1M Email Addresses in Data Theft
Cointelegraph: Ledger data leak: A ‘simple mistake’ exposed 270K crypto wallet buyers

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41min
May 16, 2023Bitcoin’s BRC-20 Mania: Is It Sustainable? - Ep. 493
Ordinal theory has unleashed a new wave of NFTs, memecoins and innovation on Bitcoin — but not without controversy. Bitcoin educator Dan Held and Bitcoin Frontier Fund Managing Partner Trevor Owens join the show to discuss the breakneck rise of BRC-20s and why they’re both bullish on what memecoins mean for the original blockchain.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Show highlights:
what ordinal theory is and how it enabled Bitcoin “NFTs”
how the Ordinals Protocol differs from the ERC-721 token standard used by many Ethereum NFTs
how BRC-20s work by relying on some off-chain mechanisms
why Bitcoin is not a “dinosaur chain,” according to Dan
why Trevor says BRC-20 memecoins are superior to those on Ethereum
what the practical utilities of BRC-20s are, if any
why transaction fees in Bitcoin rose so much and why it’s healthy for the network
whether innovation is coming back to Bitcoin
whether Satoshi Nakamoto would have approved of Bitcoin NFTs
the role of speculation in fueling bitcoin adoption
the current and future state of layer 2s on Bitcoin
why Dan says BRC-20s “absolutely” solve the problem with Bitcoin’s security budget
why it’s hard to determine an “appropriate” amount for the security budget of Bitcoin
how the NFT market could be shaped after the rise of Ordinals and BRC-20s
what needs to be developed so that BRC-20s can flourish
Thank you to our sponsors!
Crypto.com
Guests:
Dan Held, Bitcoin educator and marketing advisor at Trust Machines
Trevor Owens, managing partner at Bitcoin Frontier Fund
Previous coverage of Unchained on Ordinals:
Bitcoin Ordinal NFTs Are Hot and Getting Hotter. What's the Hype About? - NFT Crypto
Links
Unchained:
How to Create a Bitcoin Ordinal
Bitcoin Core Developers Mull Getting Rid of BRC-20 Transactions
Binance Briefly Halted Bitcoin Withdrawals Amid Network Congestion
Domo’s thread on BRC-20s
Anita Posch’s comments.on the high fees
Nic Carter: There's No Such Thing as High Fees on Bitcoin
Nic Carter’s MIT presentation: MIT Bitcoin Expo 2019 - 10 years of Bitcoin: Evaluating its Performance as a Monetary System
Decrypt: Michael Saylor: Bitcoin Ordinals Are a ‘Catalyst’ for Adoption
[bitcoin-dev] [Mempool spam] Should we as developers reject non-standard Taproot transactions from full nodes?

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1h 8min
May 14, 2023The Chopping Block: Do Aragon Association Members Get 'Fat Salaries' With 'Zero Accountability'? - Ep. 492
Welcome to “The Chopping Block” – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Robert Leshner, Tom Schmidt, and Tarun Chitra chop it up about the latest news. In this episode, they talk about the recent issues surrounding the Aragon Foundation, the likelihood of Montenegro becoming an ETH hub, the BRC-20s mania, and much more!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Show highlights:
why Zuzalu is “Burning Man in the daytime”
whether Montenegro could become the “ETH El Salvador doppelganger”
why the Aragon Foundation alleged that they were under attack
why Aragon has “missed the boat on a lot of everything that’s happened in DAOs”
whether the Aragon Foundation is “suckling on the teat of the DAO for a fat salary”
whether Arca was right about wanting the Aragon treasury to be part of the on-chain governance
how on-chain governance can do even more than many of the investment banking functions that exist currently
why some Bitcoin developers want to censor BRC-20 transactions
why the way XEN works gives Haseeb a headache
whether Binance CEO CZ invented the memecoin PEPE
what the impact of Jump and Jane Street decreasing their market making activity is
where the next market makers will come from
Hosts
Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly
Robert Leshner, founder of Compound
Tarun Chitra, managing partner at Robot Ventures
Tom Schmidt, general partner at Dragonfly
DisclosuresLinks
Unchained:
Coinbase Apologizes After Calling PEPE a ‘Hate Symbol’
Market Makers Jump and Jane Street Withdraw From U.S. Crypto Trading: Report
CoinDesk: Aragon Cancels Planned Community Control of $200M Treasury Amid Battle With Activist Investors
The Block: Coinbase cuddles up to UAE policymakers as US outlook sours

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56min
May 12, 2023The IRS Wants $44B From Bankrupt FTX. How Is That Possible? - Ep. 491
News emerged this week that the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) placed $44 billion in claims on the FTX bankruptcy estate. Now creditors of the defunct crypto exchange are worried that the taxman is going to gobble up funds that would otherwise be used to make users partially whole. Wassielawyer, a lawyer specializing in restructuring and insolvency, joins the show to explain what’s going on, how that huge number is even possible, and why the so-called “trust argument” is not going to be the silver bullet that some FTX customers are dreaming of.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Show highlights:
whether the numbers of the IRS claim are even correct
how these claims may affect all customers and unsecured creditors of FTX
whether FTX CEO John Ray will fight the claims
what the trust argument is and how it could potentially save (or not) FTX’s creditors
in what currency the investments made by creditors would be returned
why the Three Arrows Capital case differs from FTX and Mt. Gox
why what FTX allegedly did is similar, but different, from what Celsius or Voyager did
Thank you to our sponsors!
Crypto.com
Railgun DAO
Stader Labs
Guest
Wassielawyer, a lawyer specializing in restructuring and insolvency
Previous appearances on Unchained:
Did the Bahamian Government Direct SBF and Gary Wang to Hack
Why the Messy 3AC, Celsius, and Voyager Bankruptcies Will Drag on for Years
Three Crypto Bankruptcies: 3AC, Celsius and Voyager. What Happens Now?
Links
CoinDesk: U.S. Internal Revenue Service Files Claims Worth $44 Billion Against FTX Bankruptcy
MeatTC’s Twitter thread
Wassie’s Twitter thread

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42min
May 09, 2023Writing the Book on FTX’s Downfall: ‘It Was All Just Sam’ - Ep. 490
Longtime crypto reporter Brady Dale has beat Michael Lewis to market with the first book on the dramatic collapse of FTX. In stores today, “SBF: How the FTX Bankruptcy Unwound Crypto’s Very Bad Good Guy,” tells the tale of the outsized role that Sam Bankman-Fried played in the FTX-Alameda death spiral. Drawing on years of reporting and interviews with SBF himself, the book charts the rise and fall of the one-time crypto wunderkind. “It became clear to me that Sam got really addicted to fame,” said Dale.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Show highlights:
Brady’s background and how he came to cover crypto
how covering the space for a crypto outlet is different from a more mainstream publication
how Brady was able to finalize his book so fast
what Brady’s favorite parts of the book are
who was really responsible for the collapse of the FTX empire
whether Sam Bankman-Fried will plead guilty
whether FTX will make a comeback
how SBF thinks differently from other people, and how it led to his downfall
why Brady thinks the “dot-com bust” for crypto has yet to arrive
whether crypto has betrayed its cypherpunk ideals
Thank you to our sponsors!
Crypto.com
Guests:
Brady Dale, writer and reporter at Axios, and author of “SBF: How the FTX Bankruptcy Unwound Crypto’s Very Bad Good Guy”Previous coverage of Unchained on Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX:
The Chopping Block: Was FTX a Scam From the Very Beginning?
How Much Prison Time Is FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried Facing?
Why the Legal Process for FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried Could Take Years
The Chopping Block: SBF Wants to Win in the Court of Public Opinion. Will He?
Jesse Powell and Kevin Zhou on How FTX and Alameda Lost $10 Billion
Is the Collapse of Crypto Lending Over, or Is It Just Starting?
Did the Bahamian Government Direct SBF and Gary Wang to Hack FTX?
The Chopping Block: Why Lenders Didn’t Liquidate Alameda When It Was Underwater
Erik Voorhees and Cobie on Why FTX Loaned Out Customers’ Assets
The Chopping Block: FTX: The Biggest Collapse in the History of Crypto?
Sam Bankman-Fried on How to Prevent the Next Terra and 3AC

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1h 2min
May 05, 2023$630M Due Next Week: Is DCG at Default Risk? - Ep. 489
The Genesis bankruptcy is about to take a high-stakes turn with a $630 million payment from Digital Currency Group (DCG) due by May 11. Barry Silbert’s DCG, the parent company of Genesis, is on the hook for the massive payment, but doubts are swirling as to whether the crypto conglomerate can cover it. Lumida Wealth CEO Ram Ahluwalia joins the show to unpack what could happen to Genesis creditors, Gemini Earn users, and the markets should DCG fail to cover its debt obligations.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Show highlights:
whether DCG will be able to pay its debt to the Genesis bankruptcy estate
the ways DCG can “plug the hole”
what the likelihood of DCG filing for bankruptcy is
how FTX’s intent to claw back $3.9 billion from Genesis would affect DCG
whether Gemini Earn customers will be made whole
why Ram says that asymmetric information has plagued the bankruptcy process
whether the creditors should accept the latest term sheet
how the Grayscale lawsuit against the SEC could impact DCG’s cash flow
Thank you to our sponsors!
Crypto.com
Railgun DAO
Stader Labs
Guest
Ram Ahluwalia, CEO & Founder of Lumida Wealth
Previous appearances on Unchained:
Genesis May Be Facing Bankruptcy. Could It Take DCG Down With It?
Gemini vs. DCG Is Heating Up. Could Gemini Force Genesis Into Bankruptcy?
How Will the FTX Collapse Affect Silvergate? A Bear and a Bull Debate
How Is the Fed Going to Respond to the Banking Crisis?
Links
Unchained: FTX Moves to Claw Back $3.9 Billion From Genesis
Reuters: Crypto group DCG says bankrupt unit Genesis' creditors renege on deal
CoinDesk:
Genesis Files for Mediator Assistance Over Amount of DCG Contribution to Reorganization
DCG's CFO Steps Down as Crypto Conglomerate Repays $350M Loan

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46min
May 02, 2023Do You Need to Think Twice Before Restaking Your Assets? - Ep. 488
In this episode, Sreeram Kannan, founder of EigenLayer, and Konstantin Lomashuk, cofounder of Lido Finance, discuss the complex world of staking in Ethereum's post-Shanghai ecosystem.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Show highlights:
how the staking ecosystem in Ethereum looks after the full completion of the Merge
what EigenLayer is and why it's called that
whether EigenLayer's model is more similar to Polkadot or, actually, to Ethereum Layer 2s
what the risks of restaking are, for both projects and users
how Lido is working to keep Ethereum decentralized and censorship-resistant
what superfluid staking is and whether it could be done on Ethereum
how EigenLayer incentivizes alignment between the delegator and the stakers
whether there's a risk that Lido could become a governance layer for Ethereum
what can be done to increase staking services adoption
Thank you to our sponsors!
Crypto.com

Guests:
Sreeram Kannan, founder of EigenLayer
Konstantin Lomashuk, cofounder of Lido Finance
Previous coverage of Unchained on Ethereum staking:
Shapella in the Rearview: After Major Upgrade, What’s Next for Ethereum?
How Will ETH React to Ethereum’s Shanghai Upgrade?
Post-Merge, If Lido Becomes Dominant, What Does That Mean for Ethereum?
In the Recent Crypto Market Meltdown, What Role Did Lido’s stETH Play?
Is ETH on Its Way to Becoming Ultra-Sound Money? Yes, Says Justin Drake
Learn more:
How Liquid Staking Works
A Guide to Ethereum’s Shanghai Upgrade
How to Stake Ethereum With Liquid Staking

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1h 10min
April 29, 2023The Chopping Block: Why Are We Still Building Layer 1s? - Ep. 487
Welcome to “The Chopping Block” – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, and Tarun Chitra chop it up about the latest news in digital assets. In this live episode from Consensus 2023, they are joined by Avery Ching, chief architect of Aptos, to discuss the latest SEC enforcement actions, an embarrasing admission by audit firm Certik, and crypto’s impact on the coming election.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Show highlights:
everyone's impressions of the conference
why Korea has become a hub for crypto adoption
why there's no benchmarking infrastructure to compare data across blockchains
how Sui decided not to airdrop a token and what the implications for future airdrops are
whether CertiK bears responsibility in the Merlin DEX rugpull
whether the US elections have an effect on how the SEC is playing the case with Coinbase
what impact AI will have on the crypto industry
Hosts
Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly
Tarun Chitra, managing partner at Robot Ventures
Tom Schmidt, general partner at Dragonfly
Guest
Avery Ching, cofounder and CTO of AptosDisclosuresLinks
Unchained:
Coinbase Seeks to Compel SEC Response to Rulemaking Petition
Exploit or Rug Pull? $1.8 Million Drained From zkSync DEX Merlin Despite Audit
SEC Sues Bittrex, Names Dash, Algorand and Other Tokens ‘Crypto Asset Securities’
CoinDesk: Sui Network to Issue Token Following Exchange Sale; Airdrop Hunters Dismayed

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46min
April 28, 2023Coinbase's Legal Action Against the SEC: How It Will Likely Unfold - Ep. 486
Major crypto exchange Coinbase has decided to take action to get an answer from the Securities and Exchange Commission: this week, they filed a court action seeking to compel Gary Gensler’s agency to give specific rulemaking on crypto assets. J.W. Verret, associate professor of law at George Mason Law School, talks about how both parties are playing this game, how it could change the Howey test, and much more.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Show highlights:
whether there's a long-term chess strategy being played by Coinbase
whether the case could actually change the Howey test
why the 'West Virginia vs. EPA' is important for crypto
what the SEC's strategy is and why the Kraken settlement was an “overreach,” according to J.W.
whether the SEC could develop a new framework for crypto assets
how the Ripple case will unfold and how long it will take if it is appealed
Thank you to our sponsors!
Crypto.com
Railgun DAO
Guest
J.W. Verret, Associate Professor of Law at George Mason Law School
J.W.’s thread
My story of telling the SEC ‘I told you so’ on FTX
Public Request for Rulemaking: Securities Regulation Genesis Block Proposal
Previous coverage of Unchained on the SEC’s actions:
Rep. Emmer on Why He Believes Gary Gensler Is a ‘Bad-Faith Regulator’
Is the Government Trying to Kill Off Crypto in the US?
Coinbase’s Top Lawyer Calls SEC Wells Notice a ‘Massive Overreach’
Links
Unchained: Coinbase Seeks to Compel SEC Response to Rulemaking Petition - Unchained Crypto
Coinbase takes another formal step to seek regulatory clarity from SEC for the crypto industry
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT COINBASE, INC.’S PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS TO THE
Coinbase petition for SEC rulemaking

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39min

FAQs about Unchained:

How many episodes does Unchained have?

The podcast currently has 1,017 episodes available.